This invention pertains to footwear. More particularly, this invention pertains to a slipper having a molded outsole, and to a method for manufacturing a slipper having a molded outsole.
The footwear industry is an old and crowded art. The industry is constantly attempting to design new products with aesthetic appeal, as well as being comfortable and having ease of construction.
Various designs of slippers have been available for a number of years. In general, slippers are a type of footwear having a generally soft construction and which are generally washable in a conventional clothes washing machine. Slippers are typically not manufactured using a last, which is often a necessary device when manufacturing a shoe, including a hard sole and a leather upper.
A slipper having a molded outsole is provided according to the present invention. The outsole includes a sidewall extending along a perimeter of the outsole and includes a supporting sole structure having a platform surface. A heel region, an instep region and a toe region are present in the outsole. The slipper also includes an insole that covers the platform surface of the outsole, within the sidewall extending along a perimeter of the outsole. The slipper further includes a vamp that is stitched to at least a toe region of the sidewall.
The supporting sole structure of the outsole preferably defines open cell areas. The outsole has a thickness across its length, that is thickest in the heel region, defining a wedge shape of the outsole. In one embodiment, the vamp may include a molded polymeric material. In another embodiment, the vamp may be a fabric vamp having two forward projections stitched together and two rearward projections stitched together, and having a perimeter that is sewn to the sidewall extending along the outsole.
A method of manufacture of a slipper is also provided by the present invention. The method includes providing an outsole having a sidewall extending along a perimeter of the outsole and a supporting sole structure including a platform surface. The method also includes providing a vamp and attaching at least a portion of a lower perimeter of the vamp to the sidewall of the outsole. In one embodiment of the method of manufacture of a slipper, a molded polymeric vamp may be attached by inverting the vamp, stitching the lower perimeter of the vamp to the sidewall at the toe and instep regions, and turning the vamp so that the lower perimeter of the vamp is positioned inside the sidewall. In another embodiment of the method, a fabric vamp has a perimeter that is stitched to the sidewall extending along a perimeter of the outsole.